Door chime and viewer



Feb. 26, 1957 A. c. GROHSGAL DOOR CHIME. AND VIEWER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 2, 1953 DOOR CHHME AND VIEWER Alexis C. Grohsgal, Cranston, R. I., assignor to Cable Electric Products, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September 2, 1953, Serial No. 378,017

7 Claims. (Cl. 116-169) The present invention relates to a combined viewing and signalling device and relates, more particularly, to a mechanically actuated chime and viewer for mounting on a door.

An object of the present invention is to provide a self-contained signalling and viewing device which permits a person on the outside of the door to sound a signal and which permits a person on the inside of the door to see who is on the other side of the door. A further object of the invention is to provide a mechanically actuated signal in such a device which does not require connection to an electrical system. Another object of the present invention is to provide a combined viewing and signalling device which can be readily installed on a door and which can be used on doors of difierent thicknesses.

Other objects and advantages of the. invention will be apparent and best understood from the following description and the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a front view of a combined door chime and viewer embodying the present invention mounted on front of door;

Fig. 2 is a rear View of combined door chime and viewer illustrated in Fig. l as seen from the inside of the door;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section view of the door chime and viewer shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the portion of the combined door chime and viewer mounted on the inside of the door with the cover removed;

Pig. 5 is a section view taken along the line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a section view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a section view corresponding to Fig. 5 but with the parts in a different operating position;

Fig. 8 is a rear view of the face plate of the combined door chime and viewer as seen from the line 8-8 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 9 is a side view of a plunger for use in the combined door chime and viewer shown in Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, there is a door 1% on which a combined viewing and signalling unit embodying the present invention is mounted.

As shown best in Fig. 3, the combined viewing and signalling unit consists of a face plate 11 which is mounted on the front or outside of the door and a signal housing or case 12 which is mounted on the inside of the door. The face plate is preferably molded from a suitable plastic material and, as shown in Figs. 1 and 8, it has a transparent panel or window 13 at the top thereof through which a name plate or card 14 may be displayed.

The name plate 14 may be inserted through an opening in the rear of the face plate to a position behind the window 13 where it is heldv by removable block 15, as shown in Fig. 3. The panel 13 may be molded as an integral part of the face plate if desired nited States Patent 7 2,782,753 Patented Feb. 26, 1957 A lens 16 which forms part of the viewing mechanism extends over an opening in the face plate beneath the panel 13. The lens 16 has a concave inner surface and is shaped so as to provide a wide angle view of the area on the outside of the door. When the face plate is made of a molded plastic material, the lens 16 may be formed integrally with the face plate. A tubular member 17 extends rearwardly from the viewing lens 16 and to a point beyond the rear face of the face plate. A convex lens is mounted in the tubular member at an appropriate distance from the viewing lens to magnify the image seen in the viewing lens. The convex lens may also be made of a plastic material and is held in the tubular member between a collar 19 and a split ring 211. The collar abuts against a shoulder 21 in the tubular member so as to locate the lens in the tubular member and the split ring 26 engages with the inside of the tubular member to hold the lens in place.

As shown in Fig. 3, the tubular member 17 extends through an opening 22 in the door and projects beyond the inside surface of the door for some distance. The rear end of the tubular member 17 which projects be yond the inside of the door telescopically fits inside of a tubular member 23 which extends inwardly from the rear face of the signal housing or case 12. The telescoping of the two tubular members 17 and 23 in this manner permits the tubular member 17 to be made long enough to extend through the thickest doors usually used so that the unit can be readily installed on doors of varying thickness without cutting or changing the parts. The tubular member 23 defines an opening 24 in the rear wall of the chime housing through which a person on the inside of the door may look to see who is on the outside of the door.

A manually operable signal operating member consisting of a push button 25 which is carried on one end of a plunger or rod 26 is movably mounted in the face plate with the button being exposed through an opening 27 in the face plate beneath the viewing lens 16. The push button 25 and the opening 27 are shaped so that the button 25 may be inserted in the opening 27 from the rear of the face plate. However, the button cannot pass entirely through the opening in the front of the plate and is thus retained in place.

The rod 26 to which the push button is attached extends through an opening 28 in the door and its inner or rear end bears against one end of a signal actuator or operating lever 29. The length of the rod 26 required for doors of different thicknesses will vary and the plunger may be readily cut to the proper length for the thickness of a given door so that the inner end of the rod will engage with the actuator lever 29.

As shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, the actuator lever 29 is pivotally mounted in a slot in the bottom of a U-shaped strap 38 which is mounted in inverted position on the rear face of the signal housing 12. The actuator lever 29 is biased by a leaf spring 31 so as to bear against the end of the rod 26. One end of the spring 31 is connected to the inner end of the actuator lever and the other end bears against the tubular member 23. The action of the spring also urges the rod 26 and button 25 outwardly with respect to the face plate and the door.

A yoke 32 extends between the legs of the U-shaped strap 30 and is pivoted in arcuate openings therein which limit the movement of the yoke. The yoke 32 is connected by a coil spring 33 to the inner end of the actuator lever 29 so that a toggle action will be imparted to the yoke by movement of the actuator. Thus, when the forward end of the actuator lever is depressed, the inner end thereof is raised and the coil spring 33 is expanded until the force stored therein is suflicient to cause the yoke to follow the upward movement of the inner end of the yoke with a snap action under the influence of the coil spring. The position of the parts when the actuator lever is depressed is shown in Fig. 7. When the push button is released, the leaf spring 31 returns the actuator lever to its initial position, as shown in Fig. 5, and this also automatically returns the button 25 to a position where it projects through the face plate. Upon movement of the actuator lever in this direction, the spring 33 causes the yoke 32 to move downward with a snap action.

The yoke 33 slidably engages with a Weighted plunger or striker 34 through the medium of a washer 35 and a spring 36 on the plunger. The plunger 34 is slidably mounted for vertical reciprocation in an opening in a support or boss 37 which extends inwardly from the rear face of the housing adjacent the viewing tube 23.

The snap movement of the yoke from the position shown in Fig. to the position shown in Fig. 7, throws the weighted plunger upwardly so that its upper end strikes forcibly against a vibratile signalling element or chime bar 38 of the type that will produce a musical chime when struck which is supported at the top of the housing 12. When the yoke returns to its lower position, the plunger drops under its own weight and its inertia compresses the spring 36 so that its lower end strikes a second vibratile signalling element 39 located at the bottom of the housing. However, the spring 36 which engages with the yoke normally supports the plunger in a position with the ends of the plunger being spaced from the signalling elements when the plunger is at rest. Thus, by pushing in on the push button and then releasing it, two separate signals are produced which may be of different pitch.

The movement of the yoke in either direction is limited by rubber or felt bumpers 40 which are supported on blocks extending from the rear of the housing in opposing relation to the yoke. The bumpers stop the movement of the yoke at a point where the ends of the plunger will not contact the signalling elements, but the plunger due to its inertia continues to move until one of its ends strikes one of the signalling elements. This arrangement prevent-s damping of the vibration of the vibratile element after it has been struck.

The vibratile signalling elements 38 and 39 are preferably U-shaped metal elements having the characteristics of a tuning fork and are designed to produce a belllike musical note when struck. The signalling elements are supported by straps 41 which are secured to the housing by eyelets 42. The construction of the signalling elements and the manner in which they are mounted in the housing is shown and described in detail in my United States Letters Patent No. 2,391,698, issued December 25, 1945, for Musical Signal Device and reference may be made thereto.

A removable cover plate 46 has openings therein which register with the tubular member 23 and the end of the signal actuator 29.

It will be understood that various modifications and changes may be made in the embodiment of the invention illustrated and described herein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

I. A signalling device having a housing adapted to be mounted in a vertical position on the inside of a door and a pair of spaced vibratile signalling elements located inside of the housing at the top' and bottom thereof respectively which is characterized by a weighted plunger movably supported in the housing between the signalling element-s, said plunger being vertically reciprocable in an endwise direction into and out of engagement with the signalling elements and being biased by its weight to a position away from engagement with the signalling element at the top of the housing, a bracket carried by the housing, a yoke pivotally supported on said bracket, said yoke having a portion extending on opposite sides of the plunger at a point intermediate its ends, a spring surrounding the plunger, said spring being interposed between the plunger and the yoke and normally supporting the plunger on the yoke in a position with the ends of the plunger spaced from the signalling elements, an actuator lever pivoted on the bracket, a coil spring connecting one end of the actuator lever to the yoke and imparting a snap action to the yoke upon pivotal movement of the actuator lever, a leaf spring engaging with the actuator lever and biasing the actuating lever in one direction and stops engaging with the yoke and limiting the pivotal movement thereof to positions where the ends of the plunger are normally spaced from the signalling elements.

2. In a mechanically actuated signalling device having a housing adapted to be mounted in a vertical position on a door and a vibratile signalling element supported inside of the housing, the combination which includes an actuating lever pivotally supported in the housing and being movable between an operating and a nonoperating position, a spring engaging with and biasing said lever toward its operative position, a yoke pivotally mounted in the housing, said yoke being movable for a limited distance in opposite directions, a spring having a toggle action connecting the yoke to the actuating lever, said toggle spring imparting movement to the yoke with a snap action in response to movement of the actuating lever between its operating and non-operating positions and a weighted plunger slidably mounted for vertical reciprocation in the housing, said plunger being biased by its own weight into engagement with the. yoke and being movable into striking engagement with the signalling element by movement of the yoke in one direction.

3. In a mechanically actuated signalling device, the combination as defined in claim 2 which includes a compressible member interposed between the plunger and the yoke.

4. In a mechanically actuated signalling device, the combination as defined in claim 2 which includes means for operating the actuating lever, said means including a push rod extending through an opening in a door, said rod having an end thereof positioned for engagement with the actuating lever and being adjustable in length to correspond to the thickness of the door.

5. In a mechanically actuated signalling device having a housing adapted to be mounted in a vertical position on a door and vibratile signalling elements supported in spaced relation to each other inside of the housing, the combination which includes an actuating lever pivotally supported in the housing and being movable between an operating and a non-operating position, a spring engaging with and biasing said lever toward its operating position, a yoke pivotally mounted in the housing, said yoke being movable for a limited distance in opposite directions, a spring having a toggle action connecting the yoke to the actuating lever, said toggle spring imparting movement to the yoke with snap action in response to movement of the actuating lever, a weighted plunger slidably mounted in the housing for vertical reciprocation into and out of striking engagement with the respective signalling element, said plunger being biased into supporting engagement with the yoke by its own weight and being movable into striking engagement with one of the signalling elements in' response to movement of the yoke in either direction and a compressible member interposed between the yoke and said plunger.

6. In a mechanically actuated signalling device, the combination as defined in claim 5 which includes means for operating the actuating lever, said means including a push rod extending through an opening in a door, said rod having an end positioned for engagement with the actuating. lever and being adjustable in length to correspond to the thickness of the. door.

7. In a combined viewing and signalling device having a housing adapted to be mounted on the inside of a door, said housing containing a manually operable signalling device and having a viewing aperture therein and a face plate adapted to be mounted on the outside of the door, said face plate having a viewing aperture therein aligned with the viewing aperture in the housing and an aperture therein adapted to receive a manually operable member for operating the signalling device, the improvement which comprises a tubular member carried by the housing and communicating with the viewing aperture therein, a second tubular member carried by the face plate and communicating with the viewing aperture therein, said second tubular member extending through an opening in the door and telescoping with the tubular member on the housing, said tubular members being adjustable to difierent positions relative to each other for doors of different thicknesses, a push button slidably mounted in the second aperture in the face plate and a rod carried by said push button and extending through an opening in the door, said rod having an inner end engaging with an actuating member for the signalling device mounted in the housing and being adjustable in length to correspond to the thickness of the door.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,076,606 Roycourt et al Oct. 21, 1913 2,443,559 Garceau June 15, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS 3,080 Great Britain of 1901 

